The Political Science Department is fortunate to be able to award more than 10 scholarships
to our students each year–this is an extraordinary level of support that surpasses
what any other department on campus can offer. The scholarships were created by generous
benefactors–often former faculty, students, and friends of the department–who desired to ease the financial burden on our students as they seek to earn their
degrees in Political Science. The department encourages all of our students to apply
for one or more of these awards.

Note that these are department awards, and are separate from grants and aid that may come from the college, state,
or federal levels. (Students should always explore their financial aids options with
SJSU’s Financial Aid and Scholarship Office as well.) Some of our scholarships are reserved for those students with financial
need, others are available for any student majoring in Political Science. Sometimes
students assume that they are not eligible for our awards because they do not qualify
for financial aid. Others assume that they are not eligible because they are already
receiving financial aid. Both assumptions are probably false, since nearly all of
our students will be eligible for one or another of the department’s many awards.

The different scholarships support different purposes, have requirements, and some
even have different application deadlines. We encourage you to read the individual
scholarship descriptions to learn about their purposes and their different requirements
and how to apply. The awards are competitive, but depending on the scholarship the
committee considers a wide range of factors in each student application.